[posted by Justin Levine]

Maybe its the “broken clock” theory, but law professor Eriwn Chemerinsky manages to be right on the money about the First Amendment when it comes to judicial remedies in defamation cases.

Need I remind you that he isn’t always right when it comes to this area of the law?

Nice to have you on the right side Professor! The notion of permanent gag orders as a remedy for libel claims is a dangerous notion that needs to be firmly struck down. If you give courts that power, they will surely abuse it and hand down orders that are ridiculously overbroad. Money damages and (in limited cases) physical restraining orders should be enough in these cases.

So says I! [Fun factoid: Balboa Island, where the current case stems from seems to have the highest per-capita-ratio of chocolate covered frozen banana stands than any other place I have visited. Has anyone else who has been there ever noticed that?]

[Update: The Appeals Court decision at issue can be found here. Interesting reading.]

[Update II: Oral arguments have been completed.

Justice Carlos R. Moreno asked if the order would prohibit Lemen from making the statements “to anyone, anywhere in the world.”

Russo, the restaurant’s owner, conceded that it would.

“Why, isn’t it overly broad?” asked Justice Ming W. Chin.

You go Mingy!

Justice Joyce L. Kennard noted that homes on Balboa Island cost millions of dollars, and she doubted that the Village Inn would have trouble collecting monetary damages if it could show that Lemen affected business.

“When we are dealing with a restraint on one of the most cherished constitutional provisions — protection of speech — we should only in extremely narrow circumstances allow permanent injunctions,” she said.

Sweet! It’s never a done deal until the decision is written, but I’m hopeful.

[posted by Justin Levine]

Ace recently published what I’m sure is an old gag, but which I’d never seen before. It’s a “list of man rules” — rules men have (or should have) for women.

Here are some samples:

Learn to work the toilet seat. You’re a big girl. If it’s up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don’t hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

. . . .

Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

. . . .

ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

. . . .

If we ask what is wrong and you say “nothing,” we will act like nothing’s wrong. We know you are lying, but it’s just not worth the hassle.

Feel free to add your own in the comments. And ladies, if you have rules for men, feel free to let us know what those are.

Just don’t ask us to put the toilet seat down.